Hint of Regret
by Forever Free Evergreen
Summary: Post 'Film Z' R


**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own One Piece just the words below._

_With the process of my stories going at a snail's pace, I figured I'd do something different and test a certain author's statement that ZoNa authors make better ZoRo fics than the actual fan base._

_Hope you like._

**#qp#**

She had always been mysterious and enigmatic to him regardless of how long she had been in their crew even before their two year sabbatical. As such, Zoro barely did so much as raise an eyebrow when Robin exited Mr Nosebleed's domain with a cup of coffee in hand before looking back out at the quiet night sea.

It was quite the change from when she first stepped on board and easily winning over the rest of the crew with little effort where afterwards, whenever she was nearby, he would find his hand drifting lazily to the scabbard of Kuina's katana in case she tried something on him having been the only one she could not blackmail, bribe or sweet-talk over to her side. Captain's decision or not, until the events of Water Seven and Enies Lobby, Zoro had kept his guard up around her until he could pin where her loyalties truly lay.

After said events, Zoro was able to relax his guard around her, confident that Robin would not dare think about trying to injure him for the risk of his and Luffy's wrath after all he had risked for her. There was the odd moment now and again when she would freak him out with that knowing smile of hers or odd comment that put him on edge but he was sure she was merely doing that to him for her amusement- even if he hid his reaction, he was sure that she saw through him.

"A quiet evening, wouldn't you agree?" The archaeologist's voice drifted over to him shaking Zoro out of his musings.

"For now" He responded in agreement. "But this is the second half of the Grand Line. We lower our guard and it'll be the last mistake we ever make"

Hiding her smile behind the rim of her cup, Robin could not help but inwardly chuckle at how unchanged the swordsman was since they last met. True, his appearance had changed although not as drastically as their shipwright thankfully but underneath that steel exterior, he was still the same man inside that she had come to respect and admire in more ways than one.

"So, what brings you out here?" Zoro inquired seeing as she was content standing around talking with him rather than perusing some unread tome recently purchased from the latest island in the ship's library until the small hours of the morning.

"I just couldn't get to sleep" She admitted easily as if merely talking to Zoro about the weather than her personal troubles. "Our recent troubles have had me thinking about several matters…one of them being my youth"

Zoro knew where she was coming from and could even sense the sorrow Robin was hiding from him as she spoke. Their latest adventure in the Red Line had pitted them against a group calling themselves the true justice of the seas. Among their ranks included a Devil Fruit User who was able to reverse the effects of time by precisely twelve years proving such by reverting Nami and Chopper into children while Robin was turned into a teenager. While he was normally against fighting weak opponents, Zoro hunted her down during their counter assault and defeated her knowing that doing so would reverse the reversal and return his nakama to their usual selves- well…he actually left that to luck but don't tell the crew that.

"Wishing you could really go back, huh?" He grunted sensing what the woman was going at.

"Actually, I just wish I had more time as a teenager- not that I don't appreciate what you did for us, Zoro" Robin quickly added in case the swordsman took her words as an insult. "You know that my past prevented me from experiencing a proper childhood like the rest of us. Those few days I spent under that Devil Fruit's ability, it allowed me to see what the rest of you witnessed the world as"

While the swordsman could probably not understand what she was explaining about, Robin dared not elaborate further in case he actually cottoned onto whom she was talking about. While she had come to see this crew as her family, her true family, there were a few things she could not properly grasp being one of the oldest in the crew. During her days as a teenager, while albeit brief, had allowed her to understand quite a few things she previously could not.

She could now understand the fun and enjoyment of dancing without feeling like it would embarrass her; how Luffy's never wavering confidence could be awe inspiring and how several of their crew saw Zoro than more than just a mere member of the crew.

Even before she had joined the crew, Robin had been slightly curious about Roronoa Zoro the bounty hunter from the east blue all because he had turned down an offer from her previous employer Crocodile an act which earned him a slight admiration on her part alongside his Captain. Upon joining the crew and seeing that Zoro was not as bending as the rest of them, Robin's admiration for him significantly increased as well as feeling a strange sensation inside of her whenever she looked at him after that.

While the events of Thriller Bark were indeed pivotal in her feelings for him, it was not until she had, for lack of a better word, lost twelve years and became a teenager again did she realise that she was harbouring feelings for Zoro. During her time as a teen once more, whenever she got the chance, Robin would secretly look back on all of Zoro's accomplishments easily seeing why Chopper and Usopp saw Zoro as some sort of monster and hero while Nami saw fit to make up that debt of his to keep him around in case she needed saving again.

But now, that time was passed and she was once again back to normal courtesy of the Mugiwara's swordsman whose life meant nothing compared to those he called nakama.

"You make it sound like you've missed your chance"

Startled slightly by his voice, Robin turned to the swordsman who was looking back at her with a serious look on his face.

"You're still alive, aren't you? So long as you don't die, you still have time to do the things you want" He told her gracing the archaeologist with his rare seen side saved usually for his Captain when he needed Zoro the most. "If you want to regret about stuff, do that once you're dead and can't do anything about it"

Unable to hold it in, Robin's laughter breezed across the deck until she could compose herself. It was so blunt yet so natural coming from Zoro that she could not stop herself for nearly a minute before finally getting it under control.

"You're right, Zoro. I still have time to accomplish my desires" She agreed eventually feeling a great deal better than when she first felt this evening as if a weight had been removed from her shoulders.

Feeling she had taken up enough of Zoro's time, Robin excused herself and made her way back to the quarters she shared with the ship's navigator before the swordsman's voice called her back.

"I might not be able to listen in on other people's conversations but, I can still listen in if you're looking for an ear to talk off" He told her from the ship rail causing Robin to smile.

"I would like that" She admitted. "Although, it would be better for the two of us if I seek out you. Goodnight, Zoro"

"Night" Zoro grunted as the archaeologist disappeared inside the ship. Only then did he realise what she was implying. "**I DON'T GET LOST!**"

Chuckling quietly so as not to awake Nami, Robin silently moved to her own bed as thoughts of the swordsman began to sift through her mind. Glancing over at the form of the sleeping navigator, she could not but smile a touch wider as a thought occurred to her.

"Perhaps I should convince Zoro to include you in our meets, Nami" She said quietly as she lay down under the covers. "Even with my abilities, I doubt I can _satisfy_ Zoro by myself"

From her own bed, hiding under the covers and blushing redder than a tomato, Nami dearly wished that her sister could at least _try_ to put some emotion into her words when she spoke her mind. It was as if Robin _knew_ that she had been eaves dropping on them.

**#qp#**

_Be honest in your reviews- it was harder than I thought to keep Robin OC in this._

_Review if possible & until next time_

_Watch this space & peace out!_


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